Wolves and Ashes
by MedusaOnAPlane
Summary: Beowulf has always been a wild spirit, never doing what others tell him, until now. When he's in the wrong place at the wrong time his life changes without warning, and keeps getting worse. WARNING: EXTREMELY DARK, physical and mental torture, mild sexual themes, Stockholm Syndrome, indoctrination and I'm sure I will keep thinking of worse and worse things to add to this list.
1. Prologue

WARNING: This story get very dark, has mild sexual themes, and should be considered NSFW. It is still a work in progress. I am not focusing on correcting grammatical errors for the time being, so I apologize if that bugs you. Feedback is awlays appreciated, this is my first time seriously writing something.

* * *

He put his index finger to his lips and hushed me several times, "Hear that, Wulf?" I gave a slight nod and low grunt back at him. Knuckles white around the barrel of the rifle, he peeked over some brush to see if he could locate the source of the sound. A silent point of a finger directed my eyes towards a doe grazing near a few birch trees. It was cool, but sunny enough that the light slid in through the trees like a spotlight on the game.

"You're a better shot than me," I said to my friend, "get it."

"What's a wolf that can't hunt? You take the shot." He thrust the rifle in my hands with a teasing smile.

I sloppily readied the gun in my hands, "You sure?" He shot me a reassuring grin. I smiled back and then turned to aim the sights down. I took a deep breath and held it for a second while I lined up the shot the best I could. I put slight pressure on the trigger of the rifle, then snapped my finger back. A gruesome sound from the doe coalesced with the bang of the gun, and it fell on its knees and collapsed.

"WOOOOO! I GOT IT BRO! I HAVEN'T GOTTEN A DEER IN YEARS, CADEN! YEA BABY!" I instantly sprung up and I went for a high five.

He got up and returned it with a smile and shake of the head, "With a voice like that, you're not getting anymore, now let's get that dame back to camp. You do the lifting big guy."


	2. Chapter 1 - As Planned

"Oh I missed this, the fresh air, the silence, the trees." I said after an exaggerated inhale.

Caden shot me a glance and went back to skinning the deer, "Yea man, you never get out of the city anymore. We haven't done this in 6 years. Get me another beer would you?"

I got in the cooler and grabbed a Smirnoff Ice, walked over to the skinning table and slammed the beer on the table and put an arm around his shoulder. I was quite a bit taller and bigger than him, much so that I pushed him a little harder than I meant too.

"I got a sharp knife in my hand, you idiot!" I just laughed and went back to sitting on "The Hurting". I finished off my beer and got started on my 5th.

"Yea it's been a long time since I've been at this camp. It's kind of surreal. New Meridian is taking its toll on me bro." I took another sip of my drink, "But not even the Medici get out here! Hic!"

"Oh man, I almost forgot about the Medicis. I've been out of that city for longer than I thought. The wife never wants to go there, says it's too "hustly-bustly" for her. That's why I've never came for a visit, besides way back when during your finals. But that city is a little much, always weird stuff going on there." I finished off my beer and dug through the cooler for another one. "Say Beowulf, when are you getting a wife? Don't you think it's time to move out of that shabby apartment, settle down, have some little Wulf pups? Huh?" He chuckled to himself at the joke.

"Marriage isn't the style for this Lone Wolf! Though there's this girl who works at the Madman's café, remember that place? Last time I tipped her I shot her a smile, really think she got the message."

"Hell yea I remember Madman's! That was my favorite hang out with that one girl from Maplecrest! Remember her? Damn it, why can't I remember her name, you know the one with the brown hair and pretty face?"

I kicked my boots up on a log in front of me like a lounge chair, "All that I know is that it's nice not having to pretend to be THE WULF, you know? I used to talk shit up on stage but really I'm not like that, out here I don't have to pretend that I'm "Mr. Carefree Ultra Confident Man". And don't even get me started on how nice it is to escape the constant children yelling at me for being the bad guy in "Annie and the Stars". Can't even go out in public without making a mother's day bad.

He finished up skinning the deer and went to wash his hands in the nearby stream. "Hey man, got to go take a piss, be back in a second," I yelled to him.

"Yea don't trip and hurt yourself on the way there, drunkie," he scoffed.

I ducked behind a tree to get my privacy, when I heard footsteps behind me. Quickly I turned around, but too quickly and my head started pounding and the ground got all wobbly. While trying to get my bearings, something red grabbed me by the chest and pinned me against the tree. I heard Caden let out a stifled yell, "Who are you!" Pain rushed through my head, but my vision slowly focused on a female face. It was a sharp face; exotic and surrounded by a crowning angled bob.

A female voice not coming from the woman who was in front of me yelled, "Come on, go quite or you get a bullet in your shin!" My vision came fully into focus and I saw the woman in front of me was holding a big gold thing and that her arm was made of some red liquid. She wore a sleeveless fur coat and black leather skirt. Way behind her I saw a woman in a black veil holding a tommy gun to Caden's head as he got up.

"Ohoh, is this the big bad wolf you wanted, Ash? Dearest me, he's big. I wish I had Albus to carry him!"

"Yes, that's Beowulf. Thank you for your help Eliza, you never fail," a man in a suit stepped to this woman's side after pillaging a beer from the cooler. "Oh and Dahlia has our main objective in the limo, this went surprisingly smoothly."

Panic welled up in me "HEY WHO ARE YOU! YOU BETTER LET ME OUT OF YOUR UH, KOOL-AID ARM! COME ON THAT NOT COOL THESE JEANS ARE NEW! YOU KNOW I REALLY GOTTA PEE LET ME GO!"

"Oh, honey! You're silly," the woman in holding me to the tree started dissolving down the middle of her face, melting away revealing a skull with feline eyes and an inhuman shape, "THAT'S BLOOD!" I got crushed again the tree harder and the blood crept up my chest to my face. I choked on it and my screams as my vision went red, then to black.


	3. Chapter 2 - Conditioning

I woke up with an excruciating headache and a really sore back. More like a really sore everything. I let out a weak groan of pain and newfound consciousness. Bright lights hurt my eyes as I tried to look up. I could see the feet of a person sitting in a chair away from me.

"Oh, good you're up. I was worried you were in a coma," the voice was familiar, but everything still hurt too much to think. I fuzzily saw the man get out of his chair and approach me. He snapped his fingers in my face and a wave of pain shot through my head. I let out another groan to attest for my pain. After recovering, he shoved a pill in my mouth and held a cup of water to my mouth. "Painkiller, drink," he said. I drank sloppily and desperately spilling it everywhere. The man walked away from me, "I'll let that set in, be back soon." I blacked out again.

I woke back up and everything was clearer, and the pain weakened. I took in my surroundings in a panicked rush. My arms and legs were bound in an X shape to a wooden cross. I struggled desperately to no avail. The room I was in had concrete floors, angled slightly to a drain in the center of the room. In contrast to the cold concrete, the walls were a deep red with wood paneling, with many large paintings and generally luxurious feel. A table with two chairs, one wooden, the other one "The Hurting" , was again the wall directly in front of my with a half-eaten poultry breast on it. The sight made my stomach rumble voraciously.

After what felt like many hours skulking in panic, discomfort and hunger, a door opened up and the man from earlier stepped in.

"Hey bud, you got a lot of nerve doing this to me!" I shouted at him as best as I could.

He sat down in the wooden chair and pushed the half eaten food out of his way to rest his elbow on the table.

"Yea, so who are you anyways!" I said, trying to relax my sore vocal cords,

"A longtime fan." He paused for a moment to pick a piece of bird off the plate and nibble on it. "Glad to see you not unconscious and fully functioning. My name is Ash Medici, torture and interrogation specialist of the Medici Clan. Pleased to finally meet your acquaintance Mr. Beowulf."

I couldn't find a good response. I was scared at the thought of meeting a "Torture Specialist" on terms like this, but I didn't let it show. "Yea, the feelings not mutual," I spit in his direction, and just missed his shoes.

He ignored the taunt, "Not a, "Why am I here?" or a "What do the Medici's want with me?" or maybe a, "Who was that incredibly terrifying lady who drowned me in blood? Not very inquisitive are you?" He laughed lightly, "I'll just answer them for you anyways. In order: You are here because I need a new plaything. The Medici's want nothing with you, they just wanted your friend. And that lady was my good friend Eliza, incredible rich patron of the arts in New Meridian. Maybe you've heard of her?"

A whole plethora of questions welled in my head but I blurted out, "CADEN! What did you do with Caden!" I hurt my hand squeezing them so hard into fists.

"You're old school mate right? Grew up in New Meridian and moved out to the country once he married? Well, unfortunately for him, he turned out to be cousins with the newest Skullgirl, and the Medici's needed a peace offering to Lab 0. Val was ecstatic with me! But I reckon he's undergoing some experiments right now."

"None of this makes any sense, what's Lab 0! Who's Val?" I was already feeling exhausted from this.

"Not important, what is important is you," he got up and walked towards me with the plate of spare food in hand. "Want some?" He held it out in front of my face. I hesitated, out of doubt of this sudden kindness from the man who has me tied to posts. Ultimately my stomach won out and I took a large bite of what could have tasted horrible, but I wouldn't have noticed.

"My goal isn't too kill you Beowulf." I took another bite of the food and quickly swallowed it into another bite. Ash set the plate back down after I was done. "My goal is to make you scream." He pulled out a switch blade from his back pocket. My first instinct was to struggle against the bindings. "Sadly squirming won't help, but it does make this more enjoyable."

He took the blade and just touched it against my skin. It was cold, and cause the skin around to tense up. "Stop, don't!" I said in a raspy voice, attempting to be loud but sounding quiet and drained. He took the blade off my skin and laughed.

"Oh my goodness, I didn't even touch you with the sharp part you little whelp!" He then positioned it on the left side of my chest. "This is the sharp part." My breathing tensed and my teeth grit as he pushed it gently into my skin. He did a short cut downwards, followed by a grumbled yelp from me. "Oops, hand slipped let's try that again." This time he was quicker, making a hasty incision from my collar to my lower abdomen. I couldn't hold back a grueling yell of pain; I fought to hold back tears.

I tried to not show weakness, "Is that all you got?" My voice was hoarse and gravely; I hung my head low to let my hair cover my face.

"Oh I can make it much worse," he sounded like he was getting a rush from my pain. I didn't seem him move, but a sharp pain sprung from my right shoulder. His blade went deep into my joint and stabbed my bone. I made an ungodly noise. Sharp pains rushed through my head as I jerked up and collided with the post. An aftershock of pain welled in my shoulder as he ejected the knife from the fresh wound.

"Those are the noises I want from you. Scream for me," I barely heard the sound of his knife dropping to the floor over my stifled breaths. My vision was blurry, but I felt his fist crash into my stomach. All the breath I clung onto escaped in a gasp and whimper. "You can get louder than that!" Another punch to my nose. It worked, and I screamed louder than I have yet.

His breath was just as heavy as mine. There was a moment where neither of us moved or talked, just breathed, until he moved to his chair. I had barely realized between my quite sobs, but piss was soaking my jeans.

"That's what I like to see," he said with a newfound cool demeanor. "I hope tomorrow will be this fun, but until then ado." I heard him get up and exit the room. As soon as the door slammed I cried hard; choking on my breath, saliva, and the blood running from my nose. I swore he lingered at the door, but I didn't care.


	4. Chapter 3 - Disobediance

I woke up to another horrible head pain. The lights once again sent shots of aching through my body. Ash wasn't in the room, and I had no way of knowing what time it was. I took in anything that changed to distract me from my screaming wounds. I was shirtless now, with new pants. I wondered how bad I must've been out for them to be able to completely remove me from the posts and put me back with me waking. My shoulder was bandaged in a cross body fashion. All the blood from cuts was cleaned up.

Another meal taunted me on the table. This time is was steak with green beans and who knows what kind of sauce. I didn't feel very hungry, but my mouth still watered. From my limited cone of vision I saw what I assumed to be my dirty clothes balled up in the corner. The room smelled particularly nice, like pine aerosol. Nothing else I could see had changed about the room.

An hours or so later the door creaked open and Ash stepped in, clad in nothing but boxer briefs and a t-shirt that was too big for him. His hair was clearly much messier compared to the usual gelled-up style he's had every time. He carried a piece of toast in with him, and took a bite of it before noticing me looking at him.

"Oh hey, you're up early," he spoke with his mouth half full. "I hope you appreciate the change of clothes."

"Oh yea, it's great," I mustered the strength to use sarcasm. He sat in his typical chair. He just stared at me in silence, and I couldn't think of something to say.

He broke the pause, "I hope you'll excuse my attire, or lack thereof. I just woke up." He said this with a smile, like he expected me to laugh what he said. Laughing with him is the last thing I would do. His smile faded, "Want some food? Steak isn't a typical breakfast item, cold too, but I don't think you're in a position to detest."

He walked to me with the plate of food, and held a fork with steak on it to my mouth. I didn't move besides shifting my eyes from the plate to meet his expectant gaze. 'Eat' he commanded. "Not hungry," I spat at him. A brief moment of tension took place, like he was suggesting this was my last chance to obey.

He scowled deeply. "Fine," he poured the food off the plate all over me and onto the ground, he got in my face and hissed, "Eat off the floor like the dog you are then." He went back to the table and picked up his toast. I felt bad, almost regretted refusing to have him feed me, out of fear I just made whatever inevitable punishment awaited me worse. "I'll be letting you off the cross today, but after that stunt you just pulled I'm not so sure." He walked over to me with his toast stuffed in his mouth. He began to unfasten the belt-like binding around my feet, then my hands.

I felt a sudden urge of anger as soon as he undid the last binding, an opportunity rose to attack him and escape. I attempted to jump from the post and pin him, but as soon as my feet hit the ground my legs collapsed from lack of use and my weak state. This made it easy from him to quickly jump backwards and retaliate with a knee to the face. I felt a sudden rush of dark surprise, like I had forgotten there was another step while heading down stairs. Pain rushed from my already abused nose getting hit again.

"Disobedient dog!" he screamed furiously and kicked me in my stabbed shoulder, I was fully knocked on the ground, crumpled in pain. He kicked the food that was on the ground into my face. He stood over me silently, his hands in fist.

I was sobbing with snot and blood pouring from my nose. I raise my head and met his eyes, "Is this what you wanted?" My voice cracked horribly, "TELL ME IS THIS WHAT YOU WANTED! YOU BROKE ME!" A swift kick in the jaw made me bite my tongue. My sobs got harder as I closed my eyes tightly and curled my body together.

"You are worthless scum," he walked out of the room and locked the door.

I didn't know what else to do besides cry. He was right, I can't even stand up to him. Worthless.

I could barely breathe between sobs and coughing out blood before 30 minutes when I found some composure. My limbs were so weak, but I carried myself over and sat on "The Hurting". I could see the whole room now. In a corner was a shower head with a knob and bar of soap sat on the ground. A toilet with clearly minimum need for comfort accounted for. And a small table with smart phone compatible radio and various leather fetish tool on it. The cat-o-nine-tails particularly made me cringe. I sat in the chair resting, barely moving, for what must've been at least an hour and a half. My stomach started rumbling, when I stirred to finally regard the food on the floor, and still my face. It made me sick to think about eating it, not because it was on a dirty floor covered in my own blood, but more out of the want to not give Ash what he wants. Being degraded into an animal that he can train.

I got on my hands and knees and crawled over to it; tears welled up again. I lowered myself down and took a piece of it in my mouth. I broke out in sobs, again realizing again that I am scum like he said; eating off the floor. I slowly ate due to my injured tongue; everything just tasted like blood.

After finishing off what I could scrounge up, I attempted to stand. After several attempted I held myself up, I hobbled over to the shower and turned it on, flinching at the cold water hitting my skin. I hadn't bothered getting out of my trousers or bandages. I picked up the soap with the guidance and support of the wall and began bathing. The bar slipped from my hands multiple times, I barely had the strength to hold on to it. When it fell from my grasp and slid across the room to the drain I gave up on trying to be thorough and limped to the toilet.

After going through mild disappointment of the realization that the toilet paper was only 1-ply, I walked, without outside support, back to "The Hurting" My soaked-through pants made me uncomfortable, but I managed to fall deep asleep after many twitches and waking up from brief nightmares.

A splash of ice cold water woke me up with a jolt, drawing all my breath from me, and causing me to hit my head against something.

"I'm thoroughly disappointed in your behavior today, Beowulf. I try to be nice, I try to give you food, I even let you out of your bindings today. I feel betrayed, honestly." I don't know why, but this hurt me, hearing him say I disappointed him. "This behavior calls for punishment."

Tension raced through my body at the realization of those words. I noticed that now I was stood up against a wall with my hands suspended above me and my feet in shackles. I saw him walk over to the table with the assorted torture tools. He picked up the nine tails.

Without a word he walked to me and lashed my side. A weak yelp escaped me, I couldn't even try and to hold my reactions back. His lips curled into a satisfied smirk as he lashed me again, across the chest. Again and again he hit me, each harder than the last. Once he hit me across the face with handle and I let out a particularly gruesome noise. Blood beaded without rhyme or reason against the red streaks.

He put down his instrument and looked at the cuts. He started tracing where the blood was with his tongue.

"Maybe I've been hanging around Eliza too much, but this taste great." He continued to do it. I writhed uncomfortably with sounds of protest. He did it up my neck and side to my armpit. He was gentle about it; it unsettled me how warm it felt. He did it a few more times, until something overcame him and he bit me. It burned through my already existing sores, and went through flesh. Horrific noises poured out of me, broken and rocky. He traced the teeth marks embedded in my skin with his tongue. I would have cried if I wasn't so dehydrated.

Without a single word of goodbye he left the room again, leaving me to stand in my agony.


	5. Chapter 4 - Scare Tactics

I had been awake for a while now, and I didn't even remember waking up. I felt dreamy, like what had happened to me these past few days was fake. But the pains all across my body, and the red streaks scattered across my body quickly sobered me. I was laying on the ground, free of any bindings. A yellow piece of paper lying beside me caught my attention. It was a note, written in impeccable handwriting,

'Beowulf, I have some things to prepare for this evening. Fresh food and water on the table, help yourself to the radio. –Ash :)'

I drug the note with me to the table where I found a plate of venison and beans, pitcher of water, a glass, some folded clothes, and a single pill. I picked up the pill and placed it on my tongue then poured water straight from the pitcher into my mouth in a hurried rush. I didn't know what the pill was but I was take it even if it just had a chance to be a painkiller. Even drinking hurt me, but it washed the taste of blood out of my mouth and its coldness numbed my busted lip.

I ate the meal too, but slower because I wanted to savor anything that took my mind off the hurt. While eating I picked the note back up and wondered what Ash meant by "this evening". It worried me thinking he had something extra horrific planned for tonight.

Afterwards, I decided it was a good idea to take a shower and change. I stripped out of the bloodstained pants I had on, and turned the water on. I was glad to have cold water now, it felt numbing and refreshing. This time there was a washcloth, and shampoo and conditioner on the ground. The shampoo was packaged in foreign writing with a minimalistic design, I concluded it must have been expensive. The soap burned my cuts, and especially the bite mark, which had turned the surrounding skin deep purple. Once I had gotten the blood and filth off me, I went to go change into the fresh clothes provided.

A pair of briefs, gray sweatpants, and a white tank top was provided for me. Everything was of very high quality and was incredibly soft and comfortable, albeit a little small for me. After changing I went to use the bathroom and noticed that the toilet paper was no longer papery one-ply. It crossed my mind why he would be giving me such good accommodations all of the sudden, but I wouldn't argue.

Finally I wandered over to the radio, and to my surprise all the torture tools were no longer there. Even more so surprising was that there was a phone hooked into the radio. I took the phone out of its slot and opened it. There was no passcode to unlock it. I clicked on the 'Call' app. I was in disbelief that he would leave this here. I typed in the emergency service number and hit connect. After a single beep I heard Ash's voice respond in a prerecorded fashion,

"Don't do anything you would regret."

I froze in disappointment as it went into a steady tone and displayed the message "Number you called does not exist." I sighed and was about to close the app when an idea hit me. I typed in Caden's number and hit call. After a long time, I heard his voice. It almost made me jump.

"Heya, its Caden. I couldn't get to the phone right now, tell me why you called after the beep."

After a long pause, on childish hope I said something into the phone.

"Hope you're alright dude."

Disappointed, I went to go rest on the "The Hurting", and I actually almost started to feel comfortable, content even. The pill I had taken must have been a painkiller because the pain was no longer the only thing I thought of. I dozed off after only a few jerks.

I snapped out of my trance at the sound of the door opening. I expected Ash, but someone I hadn't knew stepped in. Sensing my confusing, the young boy said, "Follow me." I did as I was told and followed the boy out of the room.

The proceeding hallways was just like the room I was held in, but with wooden floors instead of concrete. The boy spoke up again, "Ash wants to show you something in the room ahead." Any idea of bolting past the child and attempting to escape was instantly quelled when I reached to rub the bite mark from last night.

The child opened the door and insisted I go in. I did as expected and the door closed behind me. The room had the same concrete floors as before, but unlike my room, it had a large table in the middle, where ash and a man was sitting at, and an industrial metal sink. Ash regarded me with a nod of the head to a chair over on the far wall.

"Hey who's that guy!" the man I didn't know said to Asher.

"A witness now shut the fuck up until you are told to talk," Ash responded in a harsh tone. "Beowulf this man has information the Medici's want. It's my job to get it out of him. Hope you like the clothes I gave you, it's the only stuff I had that was too big for me."

I responded feebly, "Yes, th-they are nice, thank you." My words sounded broken. He smiled at me then turned to the other man with a scowl.

"You talk big, let's see if your tolerance matches it," Ash yanked the man out of his seat, who I could now see was in binding, and dragged him over to the sink. The man curse as he was pushed against the edge of the water filled basin. I watched silently. Without warning Ash plunged the man's head down into the water. Yelling profanity the man choked on water and his words. "You'll be under there much longer each time you don't tell me what I want." Ash repeated this again and did in fact hold him under water longer. He kept doing this over and over, I watched with a silent morbid curiosity. I wondered why he wanted me to watch this.

The man looked horrible when he got yanked out of the water this time. He coughed out a grotesque amount water and despite his skin being wet you could tell he was crying. "Please!" he cried, "I have a wife, a family. 2 little girls!"

"Let's see how well you fucking breathe with a broken nose!" Ash smashed the man's face on the edge of the sink twice. Unsettling cracking noising mixed with his screams. My heart beat fast, I was terrified. I found my hand gripping onto the underside of my chair. Ash put the man underwater once more, while hitting the man's head against the side of the sink. When he came up this time he looked nearly dead.

"I was hired by the fishbone gang! It was them! They did it! Nadia has it! Please stop," the man screaming pleads echoed in the room. Without hesitation Ash smashed the man's face into the edge of the sink again and threw the man stumbling onto the floor and crashing into a wall. Ash kneed the man in chest, and then grabbed in by the shirt. I started crying. He slammed the man into the wall and grabbed his head. A swift motion of Ash's hands silenced the man's screams and an eerie silence followed.

After a brief pause Ash exhaled and faced me. He hushed me gently, "Don't cry. Do you know why I did that to him?" I shook my head slowly and sniffled. "I did it because I didn't care about him, like I care about you. That's why I haven't been that hard on you. I care about you, Beowulf, unlike scum like him." He smiled at me warmly and escorted me back to my room. When I got there, a bed now took place of the torture cross that had been there.

Desperate for a good rest, I clung to one of the pillows and slept.


	6. Chapter 5 - Trophy

Holy shit, this is a long chapter. But I'm generally happy with it. Especially because my favorite blood goddess makes another appearance!

* * *

I woke up in the same plush bed I fell asleep in, hugged desperately to the pillow in my arms. I worried about how unbecoming the drool all across my face and cushion was. The painkillers I had the day prior definitely wore off, my whole body ached again.

The phone was still in the radio dock, and I thought to go check the time. It read 2:36 AM. Food had been laid out on the table, waffles with maple syrup and strawberries. No painkiller laid it out this time to my disappointment. I decided to eat this now, fully knowing it might be the only meal for the day. I felt like I needed some milk to wash it down. Seeing that I had some time to kill before any human interaction would befall me, I showered and searched my thoughts to pass time.

I was startled when the phone began to ring. The caller ID was labeled 'Ash'. I decided it the best idea to answer.

"Hey, Beowulf. We are going somewhere this evening. Be ready."

Just like that he disconnected the call. It worried me, the memories of last night still fresh in my mind. I didn't want to witness anymore murders. But I didn't have a choice in the matter, if I didn't go I would be facing probably what the man had gotten yesterday. Moments later the same boy who escorted me to ash walked in with a pile of things. He set them down on the table and left without a word.

I went to inspect the items and found a suit, a tie, and a razor. I hadn't thought of it now but my beard had gotten longer than usual than its close shaven stubble. I didn't have a mirror to make sure I got it good, but I tried my best. The suit was also a little tighter than I would've liked. Despite trying for 15 minutes, I did not know how to knot a tie and gave up.

After resting as well I could, the door crashed open. I jumped up out of my chair and locked eyes with Ash. He looked like he was judging me, seeing if I looked good enough to be seen with him. Wordlessly he grabbed the razor and held my face. The action surprised me, so much I tried to jerk out of his grip. But he didn't falter, and he ran the razor across my jaw.

"You missed a spot," he said nonchalantly, "Where is your tie?" I tensed up, afraid that he would get mad at me. Embarrassed I referred to the tie balled up on the floor out of frustration. He went to pick it up, and with a scoff began putting it on for me. "Who doesn't know how to tie a tie? There, perfect." He stepped back and looked me up and down, "You look good." Hearing him say that made me feel rewarded, I didn't look like complete trash, even if I felt like it.

He started for the door and signaled for me to follow with a motion of his hands. I walked down the hallway I did last night, and the door where Ash murdered that man was still open. I peeked in while I walked by and saw the man was still laying there, dead. He was dead. His head snapped into an ungodly position, barely recognizable with the blue flesh and dried blood distorting his features. I bit my lip lightly to keep the grotesque memory as dulled down as possible. I think Ash saw me to have noticed the man, but he did not say anything.

When we reached the end of the hallway and went through a set of metal cafeteria-style doors, we walked into another hallway openly connected to a large kitchen. There were lots of people running around, shouting and sounds of large sizzles. They were all far too busy to notice me. We reached the end of this new shorter hallway, and turned up a flight of wooden stairs. We came to a cross-roads like atrium. Hallways and stairs branching out in all directions from this room. Ash walked to a wall with 2 elevators and called one to go up, as there was no down button. After a moment, there was a familiar ding, and the doors gave way to a typical hotel-style elevator. We stepped inside and he pressed the button labeled 'L' with a star beside it. When the doors closed, I was relieved to escape the extremely hard light of that floor, inside the elevator the light was very soft.

Ash spoke, "I suppose you're wondering where you're going. All you need to know is that we are visiting a friend of mine. It's expected of me to bring a date." He looked at me with a slight smile, "I hope you'll represent me well." I didn't know how to respond. I felt pressured, I couldn't make him look bad. He locked eyes with me and I withdrew my gaze to the floor.

"I will."

We had finished our ride on the elevator and the door opened up to a huge-ceilinged room. There was a set of revolving doors far to my left and a large desk with many computers and people typing on them, between those things a plethora of couches, coffee bars, chandeliers, and busy people. Ash stepped out first, not even seeming to notice the gigantic room filled with gratuitous amounts of people. I followed closely behind him.

He walked to the large desk, knowing just who he wanted to talk too, "Hey, Ellie, can I have the keys to #57?"

The girl quickly raised her head and noticed Ash, "Of course!" She got up and opened a drawer with many slots neatly labeled and filled with keys. "Feeling adventurous today are we?" the girl said picking up the keys. I felt like a child standing there, having no idea what was going on. When she went to hand Ash the keys and she looked at me. It couldn't have been eye contact for more than half a second but a slight look of distaste befell her face.

Ash took the keys in his hand and the girl turned her attention back to him with a smile, "You know it." He reached in his pocket and pulled out a 20 dollar bill. He set it on the granite desk in front of the woman, "Treat yourself to some coffee, it's a busy day."

"Oh Ash, you're too kind."

"Always a pleasure."

He walked away from the desk intent on a door in the back and too the right. He regarded me and my lost look, "I keep a friendly basis with all of the employees, especially Ellie. She's so sweet." We entered into a stairwell with the same blindingly bright fluorescent lights as the basement. We headed downwards and came to a metal door with a sign above it declaring it 'Garage 4'. We stepped through into a parking garage filled with only high quality cars.

Again, knowing exactly what he was doing, Ash guided me across the garage. "These are the family cars, there's 89 of them, and we just share them. Not many non-Medici's get to ride in one of them." Without interruption we came to a thing that wasn't a car at all. It was a 3 wheeled motorcycle, with two helmets draped off the handle bars. Ash grabbed them both and handed one to me.

I couldn't tell what Ash was thinking under his blacked out visor when he looked at me with the helmet on. Not wasting time, he straddled the bike in the driver's position and put the keys in. I got on the back, which was surprisingly comfortable. He revved the engine and backed up quicker than I would have felt comfortable doing.

When we reached the exit of the garage Ash spoke through a microphone to the headset in my helmet, which I didn't know they had, "Hold on tight." He picked up the pace as fast as possible, going well above the speed limit. I had been hesitating up to this point but I wrapped my arms around his waist and held onto him out of fear for my own life. Skyscrapers raced past us, as well as cars of drivers clearly irritated at us. The city was still lit by a gray daylight that reflected off the shiny windows or tall buildings. We turned onto a street where the trains raced above us. I spaced out, about how surreal the change of scenery was from where I've been the past few days, totally oblivious to the whole city, and them not caring.

Before I knew it we were at place lit up fabulously with lights that spelled 'BASTET'S DEN'. We parked around the side of the building. Ash set our helmets in a storage bag on the back of the bike. Out in front of the building huge sandy statues flanked a large glass door. Dwarfed by the statues, but still as tall if not taller than me was an anthropomorphic jackal, clearly guarding the door. Unphased by his menacing look, Ash approached him.

"Hey, Albus. I'll be attending today's show," Ash said with a smile.

"Oh, sure thing Ash. Eliza told me you'd be here today with your friend," the bouncer responded while getting the door for Ash and I.

The subsequent room was filled with tables with comfortable looking chairs and booths, filled with people conversing among themselves. On the right side of the building was a bar with many normal and exotic alcohols available. Everything surrounded a large stage with blue velvet curtains occluding what was behind it. Ash headed to a booth in the back corner, me close in tow. We sat down across from each other, with me facing the stage.

"Do you want a drink? They have the best Egyptian beers here. Maybe some wine?" Ash asked me.

"Beer," I responded meekly. I didn't care what kind it was, it might numb the horrid ache across my body.

Ash raised his hand and snapped his fingers, directing it at an employee. He promptly came and waited on us, and Ash told him what we wanted. Once again I made eye contact for just a second before breaking it, and the same uncomfortable air came about him as it had Ellie. Ash leaned back into the booth making himself comfortable. He looked at me, stared even, and I knew it, but I just looked around the room for something to distract me from his gaze. It made me uncomfortable looking at him. He was constantly reading me, seeing what I was looking at and trying to figure out how I felt. I felt like shit. Every muscle in my body still burned, especially the bite mark on my right shoulder. Being out in public didn't make it any better. It wasn't hard to tell, I was shifting in my seat, and my eyes never stayed in the same place. The waiter coming over with our drinks finally broke Ash's scrutinizing look. I instantly dove into my drink.

After a few minutes of silently sipping our drinks a man approached Ash, "Ash! Boy, I haven't seen you in ages" A middle aged man sat down beside Ash, making himself as comfortable as possible.

Ash looked caught off guard, "Oh! Hey Averill! I didn't know you were still in this city!" This sudden intrusion of the quite, unnoticed state we were in also took me by surprise. The man had balding dark brown hair slicked back with gel. He was a heavier man, and his suit was not particularly flattering on him. Ash wore a smile as usual when dealing with people, but this one seemed a little more forced than normal. He scooted over to make room for the man. I uncomfortable fiddled with my beer bottle.

"By the trinity, you are so old now! I remember seeing you a few years ago and you would have barely filled out that suit!" the fatter man responded.

Ash gave a weak laugh, "I grew well, that's for sure."

The man now noticed me, he was taken back a little, "Who's your friend here?"

"That's Beowulf, surly you've heard of him. 'The Grendel Killer'?" Ash said reengaging his eye contact with me.

"Oh! That explains why a few bruises won't keep you from getting out!" The man laughed hardily, "Like a true wrestler!" I feel like I looked worse than 'a few bruises'.

Ash went into formalities, "Well, Beowulf, this is one of my uncles, Averill Gordon Davidson." Everyone related to the Medicis must have been rich.

"Hello," I tried my make my voice sound like it wasn't strained, but failed to an extent.

"Well I didn't take the Wulf to roll that way, but if you have to pick them, you picked right!" The man gave another attention drawing, bellowing laugh.

"No, we're just friends," I responded quickly, voice accidentally cracking a little. Me dating a Medici? It didn't sound right.

"Oh, of course you are," he shoved an elbow into Ash's ribs teasingly with a laugh. "Well it was nice seeing you Ash, but I have to be leaving, the wife is waiting. Give my regards to you family!" The man got up and left.

"I will. Goodbye, it was nice seeing you!" He turned to face me and said quietly, "I apologize for that." He took a pause to rest his elbows on the table, "But it's okay, I like showing you off."

After a few beers and silent sitting later, the lights dimmed and a spot light lit up the stage. A woman strut out from behind the blue velvet curtains. She was the woman who had been with Ash, the one who turned her arm into blood. She had the same exotic face and angled bob, but now she wore a short black dress embroidered with gold that matched her incredible amount of jewelry. He carried a golden microphone onto stage.

"Hello darlings! Welcome to Bastet's Den! I hope you are all finding its accommodations to satisfaction. I'm Eliza, your patroness for tonight!" she spoke lavishly. A roar of claps and cheers came from the crowd, even Ash let out a shout. "My goodness, you are all so generous! Thank you, especially you Ash, I see you back there!" She lifted a hand and pointed towards our table with a swing of her hips. Everyone in the joint looked at us, and Ash just smiled and waved to the public. I instantly lowered my head down. Eliza laughed lightly, "I'll be singing some numbers tonight! Please, if you're feeling brave enough, come dance in front of the stage!"

Her singing was gorgeous, melodic, slow, but still catchy. It was very distinct, her voice wasn't like everyone else's. After the first couple brave enough to go dance went up, more followed. Most of them stumbled over each other on occasion, but none of them cared. A slight envy rose up in me, how happy and carefree they looked.

Ash noticed me looking at the couples, "I'd love to dance, but that's just not my scene. Sorry." I felt relieved, getting up and dancing in front of all these people is not something I wanted to do.

Eliza did 5 more songs till she addressed the crowd, "That's all I can manage tonight! I hope you enjoyed it!" The crowd let out a plentiful applause. She stepped back behind the curtain out of sight. Ash got up and told me to follow. We went to a door leading to what I assumed was behind the stage.

We stepped into a gigantic room, filled with giant Egyptian-inspired statues, and a pool that could easily fit 50 people into it. Eliza was laying on a lounge chair beside the pool, sipping on a foreign beverage. Ash called her name with a hello. She got up and raced towards him for an embrace, "Ash, darling, how are you?" After hugging him for a long time by my standards, she acknowledged me, "And Beowulf, dear. You are looking good." There was a hint of malice in her tone. "Both of you come sit, do you want something to drink?"

Without my consent, Ash asked her for beers for both of us. Eliza quickly called her servant, Horus, to fetch them. Ash and I sat in the lounge chairs, and Eliza who I now noticed had changed into a bathing suit, sat soaking in the pool. Ash laid back in his chair, but I sat up cross legged. Eliza noticed how uncomfortable I look, "Oh honey, please make yourself comfortable. We have nothing to hide here." I was confused, she knew what Ash did to me?

Sensing my confusion Ash chimed, "Eliza is the only one I tell everything. We don't keep secrets from each other. You saw what she is. That wasn't a dream." Eliza laughed lightly and put a finger to her lips teasingly. "So, is the next blood drive going to be held soon?"

"Yes, I'm afraid I'm running low. I hate doing them, but the public demands it," Eliza sunk deeper into the pool, "I'd much rather just hunt for my food."

"Maybe you'll have a chance soon, with the skullgirl ready to come out of hiding. Anyways, did you know Lorenzo had something stolen from him? Fishbone gang took the Life Gem. Black Dahlia is on the mission to eliminate them today," Ash made small talk.

"Oh? And I suppose your father still has his crush on that circus clown?" Eliza said with a tone of distaste.

"Better yet, he's starting to use her for our dirty work. He must really trust her," Ash said with a similar distaste clear in his voice. A cat hopped up on my chair and began resting on my lap. I never knew how to handle cats, so I didn't pet it. Eliza and Ash had gone on and talked about everything from current events to latest fashion trends. I started to get tired after listening to them talk for an hour and I began dozing off.

When I woke up I must have scared the cat because it hissed at me and scampered away. Ash had tapped me on the shoulder saying it was time to go. After the initial inertia of my muscles rebelling against me, not ready to go back to being in pain, I moved with him to the door. Once outside, I let out a large yawn and Ash began to speak, "I'm proud of you, today. I think you made me look good enough. The night is still young, is there anywhere you'd like to go, as a reward?"

The question is not something I expected. It felt good to know I didn't disappoint him. But a reward was not something I expected. I wanted to go home, back to my trashy apartment and stay there for a long time. I felt like it was a silly request but that's what I asked for, "Can I go home, my apartment?"

Ash said while handing me the helmet, "Sure, I don't know where you used to live though, you'll have to give me directions." 'Used' to live. That stung. He has no intentions of letting me go. Still I thought it would be nice to go and try and pretend I have a normal life. I put the helmet on and got on the trike. He raced out of the empty parking lot onto the street filled with bright city lights that looked like a blur against the black sky.

When we got to my apartment complex, I wondered if any of my neighbors even knew I was gone, or if they even cared. We walked in and I felt a weird nostalgia, like it was distant, even though I was here just 4 days ago. I told him what floor and what room number, that I had kept the keys under a plant. He let me get the door. I felt comforted by it, everything was how I left it, even the smell. Grendel's arm was sitting in the same position it had been when I left.

Ash stepped unpleasantly over the garbage strewn about the floor to sit on the couch, "I didn't know your former accommodations were so - homey." I ignored him while digging through my fridge for an un-spoiled snack. I found a slice of pizza I deemed fresh enough, and began eating it cold. "We can sleep here tonight, if you want," Ash spoke up to me in the kitchen while he went to explore the apartment. I was extremely glad he said that, I wanted to sleep in my own bed. I went to get comfortable clothes out of my dresser, I couldn't wait to get out of this suit. I went to the bathroom to change and pee. I got under my sink, where I kept my medicine since my medicine cabinet had recently broke, and retrieved 3 aspirins and took them all in one gulp.

When I walked back in the bedroom I found Ash already shirtless and curled under the blankets of my bed. After a hesitation to think to go sleep on the couch, I decided I wouldn't let him stop me from sleeping in my own bed. I got under the covers and made sure to face away from Ash. I was starting to drift off when he pushed against me and draped an arm around my chest. I didn't say anything but I kept my eyes staring open at the darkness of the room, till sleep finally took me.


	7. Chapter 6 - Unplanned

I don't want to spoil anything but this chapter requires a proper warning. To get around this, if you are interested in the warning then, please head to the bottom of the page to read it. Also, needless to say, I am sorry about the delay on this chapter, I finished it once, but it got deleted and I felt unmotivated to finish the chapter. I think I have the momentum back though. Also, Filia makes a cameo in this chapter!

* * *

I woke up to a sizzling sound coming from the kitchen, and the familiar look of my bedroom wall. Ash wasn't in the bed, so I drew the conclusion it was him making the sound in the kitchen. The pain lingered in my body, like it made a home there, and wasn't going to be kicked out. But still, it was duller, not as pressing than it had been. I took a deep breath through my nose and wiped my eyes, followed by an extension of my arms and a groan. I got up and opened the blinds to let in the harsh city light.

In the kitchen Ash was making food, and seems to have helped himself to one of my t-shirts. He spoke to me, but focused on attending the stove, "I went out and got stuff for some omelets, hope you like them, it's the only thing I can cook." I liked omelets only if they didn't have potatoes in them, but I didn't feel the need to voice my opinion. I sat on my couch and turned on the TV to the news channel.

"I'm Racheal Wong, reporting from our studio in the nation's capitol, Canoplolis. Frank has the night off. In our top story today, there have been numerous reports of Skullgirl sightings in New Meridian, leading the Canopy military to raise the Skullgirl Alert Level to 'Mauve'. New Meridian citizens are advised to stay indoors, remain vigilant, and report anything suspicious. The newest incarnation of the Skullgirl has yet to be identified, but our sources within the NMPD say her victims seem to be connected with the prestigious Medici family. Lorenzo Medici, the most prominent of this powerful clan, has withdrawn from the public spotlight, and is believed to have gone into hiding."

I looked at Ash, he seemed annoyed by the news. "It seems Valerie hasn't been doing her job. I'll have to get in touch with Lab Zero later," He spoke aloud to himself. He slid 2 omelets out of the pan and onto plates. "I don't care about my family, but the name means something, if we they all get slaughtered then I lose everything." He sat on the couch beside me, putting the plate with a fork on my lap. "At least until stuff really starts going down, the city will be more or less normal. Which brings me to my next topic," I took a large bite of my omelet, "I have some important business to take care of today, so you'll be on your own tonight." He took out a smartphone and 300 dollars, then handed it to me, "Keep this on you, and call me if you something. Treat yourself to a day out." I was star struck. He was letting me go, and giving me enough money for an airplane ticket out of the city? He knew what he was doing though, he had too. He knows if I wouldn't leave, and even if I did he would just find me, and not be so lenient next time. And seeing as my last phone is sitting in the woods with the rest of my stuff when I got taken, I needed a new one.

After a moment of eating in silence with the ambient chatter of people on the television filling the room, I decided it would be smart for me to go out, pretend him not dealing with this, and get away from Ash. I decided on going to the Madman's Café, a favorite and ever since I talked about it a few days ago, I've been craving it.

"So go get dressed, I'll be waiting for you in the parking lot, I'll drive you to where you wanted to go."

He went slower today, compared to the outrageous law-breaking speed he went last night. He used his phone as a GPS to navigate on to the street he would let me off. He waved back at me as he drove away from the sidewalk.

I walked in through 2 glass doors into the familiar dive. I sat myself, as had been customary for this restaurant. Nobody paid attention to me, just their friends and milkshakes, I was thankful. But still, a knot formed in my stomach as this place was particularly crowded for lunch.

I had sat in the back, with a good view of everyone in the joint. 2 men, one heavier with greasy hair and the other with a grand mustache talked with smirks. A woman sat alone with a book and a soda at a table, engrossed in the words. A young girl in a school uniform and a hat sat at the bar sipping a milkshake. Various other characters filled the tables, all surrounded by their own little worlds.

I was looking down when the waitress came to give me my menu, "What can I get you to drink, babe?" I noticed the voice, it was the girl I liked. I had not anticipated her working today.

Lowering my head as far as possible to hide my face I requested, "Water, please."

Foolishly, without thinking when she returned with my drink, I looked up to meet her gaze. A look of concern quickly shadowed her face, "Oh my god, honey! Are you alright?" A lump quickly started forming in my throat, and my stomach dropped.

"I'm f-fine. Just bathroom, now," my words were broken. She made way for me with some sounds of protest, as I got up and walked to the bathroom. My breathing was starting to get heavy and my focus fading.

My footing failed me when I stumbled into the girl sitting at the bar. A deep voice bellowed in my ear, "HEY WATCH IT, BUD!" In a blur I found myself turned around facing everyone in the building. Everyone was looking at me now, like they saw this person interrupting their peaceful, normal, personal worlds. The room seemed to shrink, and time slowed down, for everyone to take in this one moment. Tears pushed against my eyes. My breathing was stifled, and my spit in my throat clotted. I tried to clear my throat but I had control over nothing. My mouth experienced a draught as my tongue writhed to wet itself. My hand collapsed into a gruesome position while it went through multiple spasms. A wave of pain spread through my spine into my head.

"I ne- bath now," my words rebelled against me. I tripped over my unsure footing into the bathroom door and desperately tried to open it, failing for what felt like hours. When I broke through and shut the door and locked it, I fell down on my side, sobbing and gasping for air. My arm where I had been stabbed twitched rapidly. I clawed at the tile in a desperate attempt for air. I barely lifted my head up to the toilet to vomit into. Bile rose in my throat and replaced the spit in my mouth. It burned my tongue with the horrible taste of acidic bodily fluids.

As I tried to inhale I choked on my throw up and collapsed beside the toilet hitting my head on the hard tiled walled, causing my vision to go blurry. I felt pangs of again flow through my body, and random appendages jerked violently. I tasted the snot running onto my lips as I desperately tried to purge the taste of bile from my mouth. I turned and crawled on the ground to the sink counter where I thought to try and wash my mouth out.

When I lifted my head above the horizon, I found myself staring into a mirror. I didn't know who was looking at me at first, but I realized it was me. I could barely recognize myself. I looked like - an abomination. My right eye was surrounded by a large red-speckled bruise, and my left was a shiny red clearly from exhaustion and tears. Red streaks partially bruised hashed my features. I horrible red-purple blotch covered my left jaw line. My busted lip looked like it was bitten open. Various bruises and cuts lined my exposed arms, and open pulling the collar of my shirt back, the bite mark still looked nearly fresh. I couldn't stop looking myself in the eyes. I didn't breathe, I couldn't even if I wanted too. This is what I've been reduced too. A worthless disappointment, who got exactly what he deserved.

I broke away in a broken, and strained to the point of silence, scream. I felt trapped everyone out there was moving, talking, about me. I felt vomit rise in my throat again but it couldn't come out between my grotesque staggered sobs. I couldn't handle it, it felt like my body, the room, the whole world was collapsing on my chest. My head rang with terrifying agony. My teeth clenched together to the point I could taste the blood pouring from my bitten cheeks and tongue. Everything was an unfocused blur, but I found myself clawing at a window, an escape. I opened it up and desperately tired lunging out of it.

When I landed on the other side of the wall I crawled onto bleak gray concrete. I was in a filthy alley, with a dumpster, and trash littered on the ground. A used condom and a bong sat beside me, as I drew out my phone. I couldn't see the screen hardly, but I attempted to navigate to "Ash" in contacts as I dropped my phone. I picked it back up and clicked it. As I attempted to hold it to my ear with my shoulder jerking violently, I heard voices from the sidewalk near the back alley. They turned into the alley I was sitting in, as a 2nd ringing tone blasted in my ear.

I was still sobbing like a baby, and felt the need to vomit. 3 men regarded me with curious looks. One was a heavier man covered in tattoos and a sleeveless shirt. Another was of an average build with a thick beard, and a beer in his hand. The last was skinnier with a goatee and wore a studded belt. A third dial tone. "Hey who the fuck is this guy?" "What the fuck is this guy doing here?" "This trash thinks he can come in our hangout?" The 4th dial tone. They got closer "Hey bitch, speak up, what the shit are you doing here?" I'm sorry, I'll leave now. "Look at his face. What is he, a slut who got picked up by the wrong guy," they all laughed. Yes, very close to that. "Holy shit, is that Beowulf? Hardly noticed the prick with all the bruises, what a wash up." Ash, please pick up.

"Get that fucking phone out of your hands and explain yourself." One of them kicked me in the right side of my jaw and knocked the phone out of my hands. I squealed weakly. The dial tone stopped and I heard Ash, although broken up, "Beow- important meeting- quick. I was forced to lock eyes with the fat when he put his boot to my neck and lifted my chin. My heart felt like it was going to explode. I couldn't inhale at all as I continuously hit my head against the dirty brick wall as I tried to grasp for breath. "Fucking shut your mouth, calm down, and fucking speak." I felt very nearly to blacking out, I couldn't even hear what he asked me to do. The man with the beard threw his, apparently full, beer can at my face, hitting my nose, causing a gruesome cracking noise. I tried to yell but I just thrashed my head against the wall, causing atrocious waves of pain to flood my body. Ash yelled through the phone but I couldn't make out what it meant. "Hey, slut, fucking pay attention." The fat man took his boot off my throat, shoved it into my chest, and then returned to standing. Any air I had was knocked out as I fell on my side with my right arm jerking in sync with my lungs. I heard the phone disconnect the call. "This fucking bitch, I don't think he knows how to speak. We should teach him." I kick in my thigh signaled that one of them agreed. "Come on twat, stand up, so you can fight back." One of them grabbed me by my shirt, which was now stained with some blood, and rose me up against the wall. The one that had me kneed me in the gut causing me to vomit a little. "Fucking gross! He let go of my shirt and backhanded me, which made me recoil into a corner.

"This bitch, needs to learn by the blade," I heard a sheen of a pocket knife sliding up. I think the skinny one came up to me and held my by the jaw, with the knife to my cheekbone. "You know they say to get rid of a black eye you bleed it a little." He poked the blade gently into the skin below my eye, and drug it slowly across to my upper lip. My pathetic cries and twitching caused the blade to move in irregular patterns and go deeper. I felt the blood ooze down my face, diluted with tears. "Haha, yea. Struggle a little bit. It'll make it worse." I looked away, missing him preparing a thrust to my thigh. But I felt it, when his blade sunk into my skin. I managed to get a scream through that time, but not loud enough to alert anyone outside of the alley. My inhalation was returning, in a need to stay alive. But the tears didn't stop. They came faster, and harder. I saw the man position the knife at the center of my stomach, I couldn't move to stop him. The blade threatened to slide between my skin and create a not so forgiving wound. I made indescribable noises of protest. I felt the pressure let up and I look ahead at the man holding the knife. "I wouldn't just end it for you, that wouldn't be nice."

The man with the beard signaled the skinny man to step away as he took his place. "Look, fag, this is our hangout. You know what we do here? Get high and have sex with some pretty ladies from across the street. But seeing we don't have any weed, and no pretty ladies, it looks like we'll have to use you. What do you say boys?" Before any of them even responded, he punched me in the gut, sending so much pain through my body I collapsed. While I was down he kicked me in my side, causing me to flip over in a neck-breaking position against the wall. "Let's get these," he began tugging at my khakis, "off."

Between my sobs I was able to form some semblance of words now, "No, no, d-do-don't, plea- no." A sharp pain shot through my spine, flooding my head. My face was forced into the wall as I felt a greasy hand gripping onto my hair.

"Ha, haven't even gotten his pants all the way off and he's still not even fighting it! Shut the fuck up, faggot, it will be nice and painful, like you like it right?" I felt my pants slide down to my knees. I could taste the filthy and dirt on the wall as a hand was still forcing my face into it. I heard the jingling of a belt buckle being undone, followed by some grunts of trouble getting a button open with one hand, then finally the sound of a zipper being undone.

"Oh, no pl- on't this," my horrible stifled inhalations made it near impossible to speak. I heard snickering and passive remarks coming from the other two men the whole time. The pressure on my head had gotten harder, and a few grunts as the man prepared. I could feel his warmth, he was so close.

"Hey once you get your turn we should use his mouth t-," he was cut off by a loud crash from a gun. The pressure on my head let up. Everything hurt so bad, I couldn't focus on what had happened, other than process that this was a chance to back up into the corner, into safety. When I had done it there was a second shot, hitting the fat man in the head. The skinny man had pulled out his knife, cursing, and ran towards a man I couldn't make out. I instinctively pulled my pants up. Another shot fired and I heard a loud yell and curse from the skinny man.

Then I heard a voice I knew, "Don't you even fucking try it." Everything was blurry through my tears. Ash had pinned the man against the wall with his gun in hand. 2 loud shots, one to his crotch, the other to his stomach. The loud noises sent horrible rushes of pain through my brain, and I felt blood leaving my head. "Beowulf! I'm here," Ash came to me a knelt down, giving me a strangely sympathetic face for him. "Come on, let's ge-" My vision went black.

* * *

WARNING DARKEST CHAPTER YET - Features an anxiety attack and (almost) rape, as well as more murder. Please if any of these themes are too harsh, do not read this. If you are still interested in the story, you can skip this chapter, and everything will still make sense.


	8. Interlude

"-Care what happened this, family is already dealing with a Skullgirl! We can't have the public eye frowning upon us either!"

"I was-"

"I do not – care"

"Exercising my right to bear arms to defend my property"

"Your property?"

"Yes, as in something I own"

"Kuhuh, since when did you become HIS bitch?"

"I wasn't going to have him defaced like that. It was an insult to me, the whole family. They were doing what only I should be able to do."

"That doesn't mean you carry out a high profile murder."

"Clearly it was-"

"A waste of publicity, time, and bullets. You're dog here should've been left for dead."

"You have other things to worry about, Father."

"I will no-"

"And how's that circus clown of yours doing? Carrying out our jobs well? Totally trusted, asset to the Medicis."

"Cerebella has nothing to do with this."

"And neither does your ramblings, so go do something that actually matters."

"I will not- fine, we talk about that boyfriend of yours later."

* * *

"-thing is going nicely, actually. His nose is healing back normally, probably won't be able to tell it was ever broken. However he generally is not in a good state, even still. But there doesn't seem to be any permanent internal damage, maybe some range of motion reduction on his shoulders and hips. Lots of scars though I will tell you that."

"When will he be awake?"

"Not in time to get out of here during the Skullgirl attack on his own."

"I want him put in a safe place until then."

"Where is 'safe'?"

"I'll write it down."

* * *

"-out of here! What are you doing?"

"I have to get him out of here!"

"WE ARE ABOUT TO GET ATTACKED AND YOUR-"

"I made a promise to Ash I have to!"

"Fucking come-"

"You know Ash wouldn't be as forgiving as this Skullgirl, now help me!"

"I swear I can-"

* * *

"Oh my god did you hear that? What was that?"

"Things must be getting really bad up there."

"It sounded like a building falling, but really hard."

"I wonder if the church would have been safer."

"No, and you know it. Poor sods who tried to get refuge there were probably the first ones to go."

"I hope it's not too-"

* * *

"He did fine?"

"Not a scratch on him, didn't even stir."

"Good. Looks like I owe Valerie and Eliza a thank you."

"It should be a few more days until he can interact. As you can see he is healing quite nicely."

"Will he bit fit for – stressful activity?"

"He's looking like a full recovery, but he won't be ready for anything too strenuous on his body right after recovery."

"I see, maybe give him m-"

* * *

"Ha, here he is, looking rather peaceful isn't he?"

"Oh, darling, he looks like nothing even happened!"

"So if you're up for some fun, there is something I need to get prepared before he's awake."

"Oh please, indulge me, dear. You know I love mischief."

"Well, let's go get a nice dinner, then we need to make a stop at his apartment."

"Ooooh, sounds delightfully deceitful. Please lead the way."


End file.
